Five Days to Catch the Birdie
by ChickCanWriteNow
Summary: PruCan Valentine's Day fic, just 'cuz I just now decided to write one. Matthew and his brother, Alfred, share a dorm at the academy, but oftentimes his brother forgets him. In comes Gilbert, the awesome dude who just wants to make his Birdie smile. Oh, and did I mention that the Valentine's Dance is only a few days away? Rated T cuz I'm paranoid. Reviews are appreciated!
1. Monday

**Chick: Yo! This is my third time posting a fic, but I think it'll be my first one with chapters and such. It will go by in five days - each day being a chapter. Not sure how often I will update this. Reviews are appreciated, as always! Be gently, though; I know I'm late on the Valentine's Day bandwagon. But it seemed fun. So there.**

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><p>Matthew groaned and closed his eyes as his head thumped down onto his crossed arms. The desk lamp craned over his work, scrutinizing every little detail. He was finally done for the night, just in time for dinner. With shaky feet, the soft spoken boy got up and pulled his red hoodie from behind his chair and headed for the door.<p>

When he opened it, he was barreled over by his brother.

"Mattiiiieee~!" Alfred cried, hugging the stammering Matthew.

"A-Alfred... Can't breathe..." Matthew gasped and pounded weakly at his brother's back. Alfred stopped his crushing hug and backed away, laughing nervously and scratching the back of his head.

"Sorry 'bout that, Mattie," he said hastily as he grabbed a hold of his brother's hand and yanked him out the door. "C'mon, it's dinner time!"

As Alfred yelled, several students poked their heads out of the dorms and made noises of regret. Slowly, the hall started filling with kids as they all headed to the mess hall, with a racing Alfred and stumbling Matthew in front.

"Alfred, can't we slow down a little...?"

"No way, dude! Then the food will be gone!"

Matthew sighed internally, but he couldn't fight a small smile as he and his brother raced to dinner.

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><p>With the lack of homework, Matthew found it a lot easier to relax as he followed his brother up to get his food. Mondays were always hard hitters, especially the one before the Valentine's Day dance. Add the studies with the impending doom of a solitary student on the most romantic day of the year and you were bound to have trouble. Not that Matthew minded; as long as Alfred would say hi every once in a while, he was fine.<p>

"Oi, earth to Birdie."

"Huh?" Matthew blinked out of his reverie, realizing that he had stopped the line. Many students were just walking around him, and Alfred had completely left him in the dust in search of a good burger.

He looked to his left and paled. There stood a tall boy with a mess of fine white hair. This, though, didn't shock him half as much as the boy's eyes, which left Matthew frozen. They were crimson red. There was only one person in the school who looked like that.

Gilbert Beilschmidt smirked at the flustered Matthew. "Cat got your tongue, Birdie?"

"B-Birdie?" Matthew stammered, flushing and sidling along in the line. There was something drastically wrong about the situation. Gilbert was one of those guys to freak out about if they approached you; it was just the natural order in this place.

Gilbert shrugged, his mouth retreating back into a complacent frown. "Your head was in the clouds. That and you remind me of my bird."

As if to punctuate the statement, a tiny tweet pierced the air and a small tuft of yellow peered out from Gilbert's hair. The crimson-eyed boy grinned again. "Gilbird!" he said affectionately, shuffling along in the line as he patted the small bird.

Matthew still found himself speechless. He scanned for Alfred, but his loud brother had disappeared. He swallowed hard and stepped to the end of the line, searching for somewhere to sit. It wasn't like this was a rare occurrence; Alfred often forgot his brother and got lost in a sea of people, leaving Matthew to fend for himself.

"Hey, you got a place to sit?"

To Matthew's surprise, Gilbert was still beside him, holding his own tray and giving the boy an almost concerned look. "W-what?" Matthew asked.

The smirk came back. "A seat. For dinner. You have one?"

"Uh, no." Matthew shrugged. "I usually just find one alone." He didn't really know why he emphasized the 'alone.'

"Then follow me," Gilbert said seriously. He walked off in the direction of a table with two other guys sitting at it. They all looked way out of Matthew's league.

But he followed.

And he caught Gilbert's proud smirk as they neared the table.

"The Awesome Me is here!" Gil announced as he sat down with a flourish beside the guy with long blonde hair and blue eyes. The guy was flicking a rose to a girl, who smiled and giggled with her friends, across the cafeteria.

"_Si, mi amigo_, we know." The boy beside the rose-bearer had a deep Spanish accent and tanned skin with green eyes. He chuckled good-naturedly and elbowed the flirt beside him.

These guys were obvious to name: Francis and Antonio, Gilbert's two best friends.

Not that Matthew paid attention to that stuff all that much; if you _didn't_ know that, you basically lived fifty feet underground.

"_Oui._ Who's your friend, Gil?" Francis asked suggestively in his French accent, wiggling his eyebrows. Matthew's eyes widened and he blushed, ducking his head as he sat beside Gil and got to work on his meal.

Gilbert took it in stride, throwing an arm around Matthew (who stiffened considerably). "This here's Birdie. He got ditched by his bro, so - being the awesome guy that I am - I decided to lead him here!"

"His name is Birdie?" Francis frowned at Matthew. "_Mon cher,_ I truly am sorry."

Matthew waved his hands quickly. "N-no!" he said quietly. "My name is Matthew. I - uh - well, he calls me Birdie."

"Damn straight." Gilbert nodded, leaving his arm on Matthew's shoulders.

"Matthew?" asked Antonio. "Aren't you Alfred Jones's brother?"

"Yeah." Matthew shrugged like it was no big deal; hopefully these guys didn't hate his brother. "But my last name is Williams."

"Why? If you're going to be related, you have to match." Francis shook his head pitiably.

"Uh... Custody issues." It wasn't entirely wrong. Alfred had just wanted to keep their dad's name. Matthew had reverted to their mother's last name; she was the one that got custody.

Something in his voice must've sounded off, because Gilbert scoffed and said, "Keep your nose in your own business, French Fries."

Francis _tsked_. "I'll have you know that name has a despicable, eh, _je ne sais quoi._"

"Yup. It's not nearly as awesome as Birdie." Gilbert still had his arm on Matthew's shoulder.

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><p>"So, this is your dorm?"<p>

Matthew nodded wordlessly as he worked his key into the hole. Alfred wasn't home, apparently, which was probably a good thing, seeing as Gil had walked him back from dinner. Francis and Antonio had taken it in stride, but a wink still got tossed to the odd pair before they walked off.

Gilbert glanced up and down the hall. "Not nearly as awesome as my place."

"Where _do_ you stay, anyways?" Matthew asked. Then he blushed and realized that he had the wrong key.

"Top floor."

"You mean the second floor."

"It's still the top."

Matthew stayed with his brother on the first floor. The girls got another building to themselves. For some reason, the fact that Antonio and Francis hadn't just followed them here bothered him. It _was_ close to Valentine's Day, though, so they were probably off on some romantic endeavor.

Suddenly, the door was flung open by a flushed Alfred. "Mattie! I'm so sorry, I forgot that you were with me! Did you get lost? I locked you out, didn't I?!"

Matthew sighed and smiled. "I'm fine, Alfred."

"Are you sure?! I only noticed just now, and I we-" Alfred stopped suddenly and realized the albino beside Matthew.

"Yo," Gilbert said casually, waving at Alfred.

"Who're you?" Alfred asked suspiciously.

Gil mocked astonishment. At least, Matthew _thought_ he was acting. "I am the Awesome Gilbert Beilschmidt! And I'm the guy that brought Birdie here home." He smirked and rested his elbow on Matthew's shoulder.

Alfred didn't lose that suspicious look. Matthew could've sworn he saw sparks flying between the two. Finally, Alfred grabbed Matthew roughly - shaking off Gilbert's arm in the process - and said, "That's nice. Stay away from my brother."

Matthew barely had time to splutter a goodbye before the door was closed on the slightly stunned Gilbert.

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><p><strong>Chick: So? Would anyone really be interested in seeing more? I promise I have an explanation for Alfred's sudden door-slam. <strong>


	2. Tuesday

**Chick: So! Deadlines… heh. I hope it's not too late for some of you. To all the people who favorite/followed/reviewed – thanks! I hope that I can keep up with what you guys liked. Not sure, though. We'll see!**

**Happy Monday! Or, well, I guess for some people. Happy DAY. There. That's a holiday, right? "Happy Day to you too."**

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><p>Matthew couldn't hold back his anger. "What was that for?" he asked angrily, shaking off Alfred's arm.<p>

"Kiku has a friend named Ludwig. Gilbert's his brother." Alfred turned around and leaped onto his bed. "Trust me. He's bad news, Mattie."

And with that, Alfred was snoring.

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><p>Matthew woke with a start, jumping up and rubbing his head. He glanced at his clock - 7:24. Breakfast was out of the question. If anything, he would have to race himself to get to class on time. And that's exactly what he did.<p>

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought about what had happened the night before. It was rare for Alfred to get so involved like that, especially with the whole door-slam incident. Was Gilbert really that bad? He, along with all of the other big names at school, _did_ have some nasty rumors spread about.

Maybe Alfred was wrong.

But Matthew didn't have much time to dwell. Studies came first.

As he stumbled into his first class of the day - math - the teacher didn't even bat an eyelash at his presence. That was a perk about being a kid like Matthew; no one called on you unless you put your heart and soul into waving your hand for attention. That and teachers didn't really notice how late you were. (In this case, one minute and thirty-six seconds. Not that he counted.)

The bad part about being late, however, was that you always got the last seat if it was a free day. This teacher in particular had those every Tuesday as an added bonus for the class behaving.

Matthew glanced about nervously, completely lost as to where to sit. A few kids gave him bored looks and went back to their work. Others gave him piteous faces and tried to help him in his silent anguish.

Then a small paper ball hit his arm. Matthew glanced up, startled, and met Francis's eyes. For a second, he was almost confused; he rarely saw the French boy in class. _Maybe he actually made an effort this time,_ he thought ruefully, but that didn't stop him from gliding over and taking the seat next to Francis after plucking the paper wad from the ground.

"Thanks," he murmured, digging around in his pack for his work. The main building for classes was about a three minute walk from the dorms, with the mess hall set in the middle. Matthew had barely enough time to stuff his bag with his things and take off. With a sigh of relief, he realized that his work was still secure, and he pulled out his own book to get to work.

"Oh, please tell me you're not a workaholic."

Matthew looked up to meet Francis's pity-gaze again. "Not a workaholic, exactly..."

"_Non, mon cher,_ you'll just stress yourself out." Francis flitted his hand to a student in front of them - a boy with messy blonde hair and large eyebrows. "Look at him, for instance. I'll bet those brows of his grow with stress, and look how much work he's doing!"

A growl came from the boy. "I heard that, Frog," he hissed.

Francis smiled sweetly. "Go back to your work, Arthur."

Matthew frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"If you want a date to the dance, you'll have to look the part."

"Did I ever say I was going?"

"No," Francis said, eyes gleaming. "But Gilbert did."

Matthew's frown deepened. "I don't really see how that affects me."

"He said that you were going." Francis shrugged, his mischief hidden behind a small frown. "That's all there is to it."

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><p>There was always time in between classes to go and get books, but Matthew headed straight for his second class in the building. The number of students wasn't very large, with the boys greatly outnumbering the girls, and the two-leveled houses were mainly to keep the kids from thinking they were basically caged in. So the main building was for the majority of classes, with very few wandering off onto campus for special activities.<p>

Francis's words stuck with Matthew as he meandered to his class. Was Gilbert planning something? He quickly dismissed the thought; Gilbert hadn't known him for a day. It wasn't like they were automatically best friends. The red-eyed boy hadn't even talked to Matthew today.

Then again, Francis could have meant it in a romantic way... But would Gilbert even be interested? Matthew didn't even know if he was gay. He himself hadn't been so involved in his sexuality as of late.

He quickly wrote off the idea, but the thought played at the back off his mind the rest of the day.

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><p>"Did you starve yourself accidentally? On purpose? Are you sick?!"<p>

Matthew shook his head. "No, I'm fine. I just slept in."

Alfred frowned. "Maybe that Gilbert drugged you."

"I doubt that," Matthew said tiredly. Alfred had made sure to come find him right when lunch rolled around, making it impossible for Matthew to resist as he dragged him to his table. It was full of kids Matthew barely knew, and more than half of them barely noticed he was there.

"Just wait here, Mattie." Alfred gave his brother a thumbs-up before he whirled to the lunch line. "I'll make sure you get proper nutrition!"

Of course they would get proper nutrition here. It had cost their mother a fortune to send them off here (well, for Alfred, at least. Matthew had gotten a scholarship.) All food had to be good to be this expensive. But it was free of charge after the whole tuition deal.

One of the only people that cared to talk to Matthew while he sat at Alfred's table was a certain Kiku, a black-haired Japanese boy that seemed determined to remain blank at everything. "Nice to see you again, Matthew-san," he said diligently, nodding to Matthew and setting to work on his own meal.

"Hello, Kiku," Matthew replied softly, looking around the cafeteria. There wasn't any sign of a shock of white hair, which disappointed him to a certain extent. Then he started questioning himself on why exactly he was upset.

"Why is Alfred-san getting your lunch for you?" Kiku asked, looking at the back of Alfred's head as he slid along the line with two separate trays. Matthew couldn't bear to look out of fear of what his brother thought was "proper nutrition."

"He thinks I'm sick, is all." Matthew shrugged and smiled, digging around in his bag for something he could do until his brother came back. When he found nothing, he looked up and met Kiku's gaze. "Why aren't you sitting with Feliciano and Ludwig?" Out of Alfred's everyday ramblings, he had gathered that those two were among Kiku's closest friends.

"They're on their own outing." A ghost of a smile crossed Kiku's face, like he knew something Matthew didn't.

"Oh. Good." As their conversation dulled into awkward silence, Matthew took another opportunity to look around for Gilbert, or even Francis and Antonio. But he found no one. _Maybe they just went out for lunch,_ he thought. It wasn't uncommon for some kids to just ditch for a bit and go get some kind of food. Alfred had once dragged Matthew along on a McDonalds escapade a year ago when they were freshmen. Since then, Matthew had mellowed out as a student, but Alfred hadn't completely gotten rid of the freshmen jitters.

"Here ya go, Mattie!" Alfred said gallantly, carrying one tray in each hand like a waiter. He set down Matthew's tray with ease and sat down beside him, digging into his food.

Matthew looked at his plate. To his surprise, it didn't look entirely unappetizing like he had originally thought. Sure, it had a burger that seemed to be dying in its own grease, but it wasn't like Alfred had handed him something that was completely processed and disgusting. His brother had even gone to the lengths to get him two sticks of celery. There was no celery on Alfred's plate, and Matthew noted this with a sly smile.

Maybe he could get used to his brother giving him this kind of attention.

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><p>The rest of the day went on without a hitch, and Matthew found himself yet again stuck inside with homework for the night. He made quick work of most of the assignments, which was great seeing as how Alfred didn't want him to miss another meal that day.<p>

The soft-spoken boy leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling, completely and wholeheartedly bored. Alfred had gone with Kiku to look up the latest games, and Matthew wasn't invited. He knew that Alfred didn't mean it personally; in fact, his brother had most likely forgotten all about him. So Matthew just stared up at the ceiling, hoping to find something to do.

But then his phone buzzed.

Matthew perked his head up, staring at the phone on his desk. Its bright screen lit up the ceiling with its bland electronic tint. He rarely got texts – from his parents or otherwise. His eyes narrowed as he picked it up and typed in the passcode (Alfred was always trying to get in and prank him). An unknown number flashed on the screen, along with a telling message.

_have an awesome day, Birdie?_

Matthew frowned. He had a clue as to who sent it, but he still asked:

**Me: **_Who is this?_

When he didn't get a reply right away, he sighed and placed it back on the desk. That had almost gotten his hopes up. If it had been Gilbert, Matthew might have even freaked out a bit. He smiled at the giddy feeling that slowly crept in whenever he thought of the red-eyed boy now. But then a weird feeling of ambiguity tickled the back of his mind. Did he really let Francis get to him?

Great. He may or may not have had a crush _right before _Valentine's Day.

His phone buzzed again, making him jump a bit and reach for it faster than he would have liked.

_im hurt, Birdie! 2 think youd remember the awesome me!_

_Dead giveaway._ A smile lit up Matthew's face. So it _was_ Gilbert. Why was he texting, though? It wasn't like he had any reason to speak to Matthew, right? And more importantly…

**Me: **_How did you get my number, Gil?_

Hoping he wasn't taking things too far, Matthew went into his contacts and registered Gilbert's number. Two could play at that game.

Another buzz.

**Gilbert B.: **_I got it from ur phone. the awesome me has skill_

**Me: **_How on earth could you have gotten my phone?_

**Gilbert B.: **_u left it on the lunch table. toni helped me get it back in your pocket_

**Me: **_Thanks…? Why'd you want my number?_

**Gilbert B.: **_is it so hard for u to think i wanted to talk to u? hey, are u free for dinner?_

Was he? Matthew thought for a moment. It wasn't like Alfred probably hadn't forgotten him yet. That meant that he was free, right?

**Me: **_Yeah_

**Gilbert B.: **_awesome! ill come by and get u_

**Me: **_Okay, Gil._

Matthew stuffed his phone in his pocket and glanced at the clock. He gasped – only five minutes 'til dinner?

His legs quickly carried him to the mirror by his bed, where he tried his best to tame his hair and brush anything unsightly off of his shirt (which was red and proudly sported a white maple leaf, due to his slight obsession with moose and maple syrup). When that was over with, he only had time to reassure himself that Alfred wasn't coming to get him before a knock at the door sounded.

"Hello, Gil," Matthew said exasperatedly as he swung the door open to reveal the smirking guy.

"Hey, Birdie." Gilbert leaned his head through the doorway and looked around. "Are you ready to go?"

"Y-yeah." Matthew stepped out and locked the door behind him. Gilbert started walking, and he followed behind diligently.

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><p>"So, Birdie, you alright with this place?"<p>

"Sure," Matthew muttered as they walked up to a café. Gilbert had said that they were meeting Antonio and Francis for dinner, which didn't really bother Matthew; he didn't know if he was ready to be alone with Gilbert for so long.

When they got in, all Matthew noticed was the smell of vaguely good food and stereotypical café lighting. Booths were set up along the windows, and a smattering of high tables for two stood in the midst of it all. Exactly two waitresses were flitting around and taking orders.

"There they are," Gilbert said as he steered Matthew to a booth where Francis, Antonio, and another guy sat. Matthew slid in first, taking the opportunity to look out the window until Gilbert sat down beside him.

"_Bonjour,_ _mes amis~!_" Francis said, grinning and leaning back in his seat.

"H-hello, Francis," Matthew said quietly. Antonio blurted a quick welcome and got promptly scolded by the guy beside him.

Wait, no, the new guy wasn't sitting beside Antonio; he was on Antonio's lap. The small space in the booths had created a small air of cramped awkwardness, and the boy was now wearing a scowl as he sat on the Spaniard's lap. He had brown hair with an odd curl sticking out, and hazel eyes. He vaguely reminded Matthew of someone, though he couldn't point out whom.

"Ah, Matthew, I guess you haven't met Lovi yet~" Antonio said. The boy – whom Matthew deduced was "Lovi" – growled and elbowed the Spanish boy in the stomach.

"Don't go introducing me without my consent, bastard," 'Lovi' said irritably.

"_Si, mi tomate _Lovino," Antonio cooed, nuzzling the Lovino's neck. Lovino blushed terribly and scowled, ducking his chin.

Matthew blinked at the couple dazedly before Francis dragged him into another conversation. "So, Matthew, who are _you_ taking to the dance~?"

"Huh?" Matthew cocked his head at Francis, who had a sly grin on. Antonio was busy making Lovino blush even more – it was obvious that those two were going. He frowned and looked down at the table. "I don't really go to dances."

"No way!" Gilbert threw an arm around Matthew's shoulders. "You can't just skip out on awesome nights like those, right?"

"_Oui._" Francis nodded sagely. "Think of the romance!"

Matthew shrugged. "I've got to catch up with studies. Besides, there's not really anyone for me yet."

Gilbert frowned, and the trio fell into silence as the food came around. Lovino still weakly attempted to bicker with Antonio, but that was about all that was really said, save for small talk around the table.

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><p><strong>Chick: It may or may not have been a rushed ending, but I hope you all can push that aside for a bit. I'm truly sorry if anyone doesn't like it, but I tried. shot**

**Anyhoo, R&R, and I hope I see you all again soon! By the way, should I include more of the side pairings? I really want this to be PruCan focused, but I just couldn't help having a distressed Lovi on Toni's lap. ^J^**


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